Friday, April 3, 1998 | 3:52 a.m.
The court in 1996 had ruled unconstitutional a state law allowing a home be forfeited in a drug sales case. The decision stemmed from the case of Noah, Lula and David Levingston and Rita Dennis, who had pleaded guilty in Reno to drug charges.
District Judge Mills Lane ordered the defendants' house forfeited, but the Supreme Court said that amounted to double jeopardy since the defendants were being punished twice for the same crime.
At the request of the Washoe County district attorney's office, the Supreme Court re-examined the case. On Thursday, citing a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court decision, justices held the forfeiture was a civil action, not a criminal punishment.
"The forfeiture served nonpunitive goals," said the Nevada court. "It prevented the further illicit use of the house, thereby ensuring that the house would not be used again for illegal purposes and that Rita and David particularly would not profit from illegal conduct."
Justices said, however, that the district court should hold a hearing to review whether the forfeiture was an excessive fine for the four owners.
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